By Matt Greeley  Associate Director of Communications

A number of gatherings in the four counties of the Diocese of Trenton posed an opportunity  during the summer months for adults who walk with Hispanic youth and their families to take part in conversations about how to better minister to them as a Catholic family. 

The gatherings, sponsored by the diocesan Department of Youth, Marriage and Family Life,  took place in St. Anthony Claret Parish, Lakewood, July 15; Mother of Mercy Parish, Asbury Park, July 24; Christ the Redeemer Parish, Mount Holly, Aug. 12, and St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, August 19.

“The big take away [from these four gatherings] from my point of view is hearing that the Church needs to get involved in meeting her people in and out of the Church,“ shared Rudy Gomez, diocesan coordinator for youth ministry.  Gomez heard repeatedly from parish representatives in each of our counties that the Church needs to be more present in confronting the social issues faced by many in the Hispanic community, such as illiteracy, immigration, after school programs for youth, mentoring and development of life skills.

“We called these meetings because we recognize more and more the need we [those in direct and indirect ministry in our parishes and in the chancery] have to break out of ‘business as usual’ and really get our hands dirty in people’s lives. We needed to directly connect with parishioners and hear about the needs of the youth and their families,” Gomez noted.

Parish groups were given time in each of the gatherings to reflect on and answer several pointed questions aimed at helping them name their community’s needs as well as vision a little as to how to best address them. 

“We are seeing a disconnect between parents and their children in terms of how they live their faith at home,” said Carrie Barillas, diocesan coordinator for Hispanic Family Ministries and Ministry for Young Adults.  And this sentiment was reflected in the targeted questions about the needs of families in parishes and the responses shared by the varied participating parish representatives.

From the dozen parish communities represented in the meetings, groups offered similar observations, noting that the children of first generation immigrants are experiencing a reality that is truly foreign to their own parents.  Children’s social pressures, education and participation in society are very different to the experiences in their parents’ countries of origin and that can create a palpable tension in the home.  This tension is also carried into how the family lives their faith together, at home and in the parish community.

There is much work to be done, suggested Gomez. “I am hopeful after hearing what is happening in many of our parishes because of the willingness to get things started and address these needs.” 

The process, he said, takes time but steps are being taken at all levels of ministry in the Diocese; from parish lay ministers to priests and diocesan staff, many are working diligently to meet the needs of the Hispanic community. Following a pastoral model guided by a process of “seeing, judging what is seen, responding, and evaluating,” there is definite movement forward. The exact details and action steps are still to be determined but making sure of the needs of the Hispanic community, especially young people and families, is crucial, Gomez explained.

He also referenced the “80/20” rule which seems to apply to the Church today: 20 percent of the community actively participates in parish life and does about 80 percent of the ministry.

“If we could get those numbers to be 21 percent and 79 percent, that extra one percent of actively engaged leaders would make a big difference.  Everyone says that we are one Church, but we need to open doors of opportunity so the lay faithful have the opportunity to lead,” said Gomez.

“If we could get people to identify what level of sharing their time and talents were comfortable for them,  that would be great.  But then, as Catholics, we’re called to give a little more than that… to go a little beyond.  We’re calling out to everyone to step up a little more!” he added.